Friday, November 17th, 2023.- Wheelchair tennis, para badminton, and para taekwondo are three of the sports that will liven up the celebration of the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games. All three disciplines have some modifications from their more traditional versions, detailed below.
WHEELCHAIR TENNIS
It's a sport that has grown enormously in recent years, to the point that it's now included in all four Grand Slams. It's competed in singles and doubles in two sports classes: open and quad.
The open category is for athletes with physical disabilities affecting the lower limbs who meet the sport's eligibility criteria. In the quad category, athletes who have a disability affecting the hand that holds the racket as well as their lower limbs, participate.
The rules are similar to traditional tennis, with the difference that the ball is allowed to bounce twice instead of once (the first bounce must be within the court lines). It's played with conventional rackets and balls, and both the court dimensions and net height remain unchanged. The only special equipment is a wheelchair designed for tennis, featuring two larger arched wheels at the back for stability and mobility optimization.
PARA BADMINTON
In this sport, there are six sports classes, where competition takes place in different categories depending on the degree of disability. The first distinction is between those who play in wheelchairs and those who play standing, and within these variations, there are different classifications.
Classes WH1 and WH2 use wheelchairs, while SL3 SL4, and SU5 play standing. In all these cases, the number depends on the degree and type of disability. Finally, class SH6 corresponds to players of short stature due to a genetic condition.
The rules are the same as those of the Badminton World Federation, and the game is played in male and female singles and doubles, as well as mixed doubles.
PARA TAEKWONDO
This sport will be contested by athletes with physical disabilities in their upper limbs, in the K44 sport class for male and female. Additionally, as is traditionally the case, they are divided into categories according to their body weight.
The competition rules are practically the same as in Olympic taekwondo, with some safety-related changes. Body strikes score similarly, but head kicks are prohibited and therefore do not score points. Because of this, the headgear with a visor doesn't have sensors.
Written by Alejandro Pérez; translated by Vicente Valdivia / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport
Photo by Karin Pozo / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport
